Shiprock community, Earl Thomas Conley celebrate Diné elders

TOP: Fans from near and far drove to Shiprock, N.M., to see Earl Thomas Conley perform his hit songs free of charge during the Shiprock Elder Abuse Awareness Day & Concert on Saturday night.

BOTTOM: Country music artist Earl Thomas Conley performs to a large crowd in Shiprock, N.M., to spread awareness on elder abuse Saturday night.

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The high winds and the haze from the fire near Crystal, N.M., did not deter people from attending the "Stop Elder Abuse Awareness Concert" featuring the legendary Earl Thomas Conley Saturday.

The event kicked off with a bike run bringing together more than a hundred riders to bring forth the message that elderly abuse will not be tolerated.

"Last year there was a lot of money spent on television and radio advertisements raising the awareness on elder abuse," said Dewayne Johnson, Shiprock Navajo Area on Aging Agency's program manager. "This year I thought about directing that message to the public differently."

The idea of having a free concert started about a year ago when thinking about how they would share and publicize the message.